DU students to evaluate profs from January

In a move with far-reaching consequences, students at Delhi University (DU) will evaluate their teachers from the next semester starting in January. The evaluation will be made a part of the teachers’ files and influence their promotions.

In a move with far-reaching consequences, students at Delhi University (DU) will evaluate their teachers from the next semester starting in January. The evaluation will be made a part of the teachers’ files and influence their promotions.

The rating will include points like the quality of teaching, the regularity of teachers and innovative teaching methods.

“The evaluation will be a holistic and formal process and will be done for every teacher teaching every course. It will be carried out twice or thrice in a semester and complete confidentiality of the students will be maintained,” explained DU vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh.

Explaining the rationale behind the system, Singh said he had taken a leaf out of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association’s (DUTA) book. “The DUTA took the feedback of a number of students for the four year undergraduate programme and I think it was a great idea. Involving students and asking them to assess our programmes is good and should be extended to assessing teachers as well,” Singh said.

The university is also in the process of setting up an empowered committee that will explore and assess the student response.

Teacher evaluation is a common process in foreign universities but not well established in India. Some professors at the Jawaharlal Nehru University voluntarily ask students to assess them. A similar idea had done the rounds in DU five years back but had failed to take off at the time.